Lesson Plans|Experimenting With Sound and Story: Teaching and Learning With ‘The Daily’ Podcast

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Experimenting With Sound and Story: Teaching and Learning With ‘The Daily’ Podcast

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The team that produces “The Daily” in a recording studio at The Times last spring. Related ArticleCreditCreditJames Nieves/The New York Times

By Matthew Green

March 15, 2018

Shortly after the inauguration of Donald Trump, at a particularly turbulent and divisive moment in American politics, The New York Times launched “The Daily.” The free, roughly 20-minute podcast posts every weekday at 6 a.m. Eastern, and provides in-depth analysis of key news events in a compelling, distinctive format.

Hosted by the former New York Times political reporter Michael Barbaro, the show arms listeners with clarity and context for confronting the often-chaotic onslaught of news we’re bombarded with every day, and has been downloaded millions of times by listeners across the country.

The show features engaging interviews with journalists from The Times on the front lines of major developments. These reporters are uniquely qualified to objectively explain the multifaceted nature of the stories they cover, and to guide listeners through the complex historical context crucial to understanding how we got here in the first place. As Mr. Barbaro says in a Times Insider piece about the origins of the podcast, “The whole point of the show was to disentangle and to explain this extraordinarily consequential and incredibly difficult-to-understand moment in our history.”

Teaching with ”The Daily” can be a great way to bring Times reporters and the stories they cover into your classroom. The show offers a regular source of boiled-down news analysis and powerful storytelling, addressing a broad swath of national and international issues that can provoke student discussion and further investigation into the complex nuances of an issue and the history that shaped it.

Keep in mind that most students are probably not accustomed to listening to long chunks of spoken word audio without any visual aids, and it may initially be challenging to capture their attention as easily as a video might. You can help prepare them for the experience by having them first read and discuss one of The Times articles related to the podcast episode, which you can find linked from each episode. It may also sometimes make more sense to just play samples of an episode rather than all 20 minutes of it. Or, consult our lesson plan Active Listening: Using Times Videos, Podcasts and Articles to Practice a Key Skill for even more ideas.

Below, we explore two shows in depth, suggest five ways you can teach with any episode, and list seven more episodes we especially recommend for classrooms.

How do you teach with podcasts in general, or “The Daily” in particular? Let us know in the comments.

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Two Episodes in Depth

In addition to in-studio interviews, some episodes of “The Daily” also follow reporters in the field, capturing the voices of the main characters of a story and introducing listeners to the places they come from. The long-form narrative format results in vivid accounts focused squarely on the people behind the headlines, those individuals and communities most impacted by a particular issue but often overlooked in the broader conversation.

The two episodes below introduce students to these different types of shows — the first a field production, and the second a more standard interview.

We have suggested places to pause and questions to ask at those points. You can put those questions on a handout, write them on the board, or just ask them aloud as students write.

Elizabeth Hernandez, left, poses for a photo with her husband, Carlos Hernandez Pacheco.CreditWhitney Curtis for The New York Times

This episode revisits an article from February 2017 about a largely white working-class town in Southern Illinois that voted overwhelmingly for Mr. Trump, and how residents react when a well-respected member of the community is detained by federal immigration authorities. The podcast follows Monica Davey, The Times’s Chicago bureau chief, as she explores the many factors at play in this poignant story.

Before playing the podcast, have students read this related story. Then start the podcast at the beginning.

Pause at: 2:34

What are the politics of the town and why have they changed in recent years?

Which presidential candidate did that region support? Why?

Pause at 8:30

How has immigration policy changed in the U.S. since Mr. Trump became president?

Who is Carlos and what’s his reputation around town?

What happened to him after the presidential election?

Pause at 17:40

What’s the complicating factor in Carlos’s record?

How did the town react to his detention?

Did the experience change the political positions of people in the town?

Pause at 22:00

What is Carlos’s current situation now?

Why does he say he can’t go back to where he’s from in Mexico?

Why does he feel as if it’s important to be part an active part of his community, even if he’s not a legal resident there?

Discussion questions after students have listened:

What are some key takeaways from this story? What caught your attention?

Can you think of an example when your personal feelings about something conflicted with a general principle or political position you have?

Where do you stand on this story? What should happen to Carlos and why? Should he get any special treatment?

Does this story make you think any differently about the different sides of the immigration debate? Does it make you feel any more sympathetic to the views of people you might not agree with?

Did you find this story engaging and fairly told? What did you like and what would have made it better?

Paul D. Ryan, the House speaker, introducing the Republican-led tax overhaul in Washington this month.CreditAl Drago for The New York Times

Although taxes are perhaps not the most natural topic for teenagers, this episode from November is a great example of an engaging analysis that helps illuminate a dense but important issue.

In it, Michael Barbaro interviews Peter S. Goodman, an economics correspondent for The Times who discusses the trickle-down or supply-side economic theory at the heart of the Republican tax bill, and examines its questionable track record.

Before playing the podcast, have students read this related article, then start the podcast at the beginning.

Pause at 4:04

What’s the basic idea behind supply-side or trickle-down economics?

What’s the deal with the horse and sparrow theory?

Which presidents promoted trickle-down tax reform? How did they sell it? What promises did they make?

Pause at 6:12

How has this strategy actually played out?

What evidence does Mr. Goodman cite to support this?

What’s the consensus among most mainstream economists?

Pause at 10:42

What’s in the current tax bill? What does it do (based on the initial House version discussed)?

What do House Speaker Paul Ryan and his Republican colleagues give as reasons that this tax plan will prompt U.S. businesses to create more jobs?

Why does Mr. Goodman so strongly dispute this line of thinking? What does he predict will actually happen?

End at 15:08

Despite its poor track record, why does cutting taxes continue to be an easy idea to sell to the public and why does the proposal keep coming up over and over again?

Discussion questions after students have listened:

What are some key takeaways from this interview? What caught your attention?

What are the main arguments for and against cutting taxes? After hearing this interview, where do you stand? And do you think your current views might change once you enter the work force and have to start supporting yourself?

Can you think of any holes in Mr. Goodman’s analysis? Is he remaining objective?

What are some other examples of well-known theories (either in government or popular culture) that keep being introduced even though they’ve never proved successful?

Did you find this interview interesting? What did you like about it? What could have made it better?

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Five Ideas for Any Episode of “The Daily”

Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School pressed several Florida lawmakers, including State Senator Richard Stark, a Democrat, for tougher gun control measures. Related “Daily” EpisodeCreditAudra Melton for The New York Times

Ask students to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of listening to stories about news, rather than being able to watch a video or read an article about the same subject. Which of the three do they generally prefer for getting news? Why? Are some better for particular kinds of content than others? What examples can they give?

To investigate further, students might use important breaking news that is told in all three formats, as The Learning Network did in this lesson plan on the student gun-violence activists at Stoneman Douglas High School.

Divide students into groups, with some listening to an episode of “The Daily” or other kind of audio report, some watching a video, from The Times or elsewhere, and some reading a news article, all on the same topic or event. Then, have them discuss what they learned from the various formats, and what they thought was missing. What were the strengths and weaknesses of telling the story in each medium? Which do they think they prefer? Why?

For homework, they might then watch, read or listen to the two formats they missed, and write a reflection about the differences and their own reactions to them. Which format did they learn from most easily? Why do they think that is? What does that tell them about how they might prefer to gain access to news reporting in the future?

John Shields, who suffered from an incurable disease called amyloidosis, felt empowered over the disease when he was given control over the terms of his death. Related “Daily” EpisodeCreditLeslye Davis/The New York Times

Embellished by an elegantly produced mix of intricate musical interludes, soundbites and archival newsreel, the conversations on “The Daily” give listeners an inside glimpse into the firsthand experience of reporting major news developments and watching them unfold.

With episodes five days a week, the one-year-old podcast uses sound in a way that often differs from traditional news podcasts and broadcasts. “It’s more like an audio documentary,” said Andy Mills, a reporter and one of the show’s founding producers. While traditional audio reports can rely on journalists outlining the facts of the news, “The Daily” asks reporters to describe the scene in which the news occurred, incorporating scene-setting audio and letting sources speak uninterrupted.

Episodes are about 20 minutes long, and though there is no specific formula, there is a guiding principle: “Use a lot of tape,” Mr. Mills said. “And by that we mean the sound of things happening in the world and the sound of people speaking unprompted, unscripted.”

To get that material, the team helps Times journalists to think with their ears. “We started to work with reporters to just vacuum up all of the sounds around them as they’re reporting something, not just the quotable moments from when you’re with the senator, but when you’re getting out of the car, when you’re walking up to the house,” said Annie Brown, another reporter and “Daily” producer.

Ask students to identify sound elements in the episode they listen to that help make the story more engaging and memorable. How many different types did they note? Which elements were particularly effective? (For example, here is an exploration of the role the theme song plays.)

The article also points out the role sound plays in “creating a world”:

The show emphasizes emotion and the lives of the people connected to its stories by including clips that might not otherwise make it past the editing phase. Listeners have written in to talk about episodes that resonate with them, like one about assisted suicide, which included the sounds of family members celebrating the life of John Shields, a man suffering from an incurable disease, at a wake he threw for himself. “We’re creating a world in which the story lives, rather than just using audio as ornamentation,” Ms. Brown said.

How do the episodes your students listen to “create a world”? Invite students to identify print pieces in The New York Times that might benefit from sounds from the field as in the story mentioned above. What parts of the article suggest rich worlds of sound to them? If they were the producer turning the print piece into a podcast, what sounds would they suggest journalists capture? Why?

Finally, students might listen to The Year in Sound: An Audio Time Capsule of 2017 to learn “what a breathtaking year sounded like, from start to finish.” Before they start, however, you might ask them to list predictions: What sounds captured the news of 2017? Then, as they listen, they can see how many are captured in this piece.

3. Hone interviewing skills:

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Kristin Szakos, a city councillor in Charlottesville, Va., sought to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee from a local park. Related “Daily” EpisodeCreditElli Williams/C-Ville Weekly

Mr. Barbaro interviews his colleagues in a relaxed, conversational format, encouraging them to speak candidly in down-to-earth exchanges that highlight their personalities and those of the people they cover — an intimate style rarely conveyed in print reporting.

“Often times, [the reporters] have something figured out,” he explained in an October 2017 interview with Recode Media. “But sometimes they’re in the middle of figuring it out.… Journalists can say what they know and say what they don’t know, and talk very openly about their process. It creates a lot of transparency that people really crave right now.” For example, days after the violence in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017, Mr. Barbaro talked to a local City Council member and a Times reporter as the city was at a turning point. How does he help his audience understand the issues at stake?

Ask students to observe the way Michael Barbaro interviews reporters and other people on his show. They might then discuss:

• How do the interviews help listeners to become more actively invested in the story?

• How would you compare his style to the style of other radio or television hosts who interview?

• What can you learn from him about asking open-ended questions that encourage people to think aloud?

Then ask students to identify an expert of any kind to interview on the topic of their choice, and have them compose their questions in advance. Then, have them conduct an interview and record it. Together as a class, have them then discuss what the experience was like. Did they get the information they were looking for? What would they do differently? Now that they’ve tried their own hands at interviewing, will they hear podcast and radio interviews differently? How?

4. Localize stories from “The Daily” for your own community:

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A rally outside the New York office of Senator Chuck Schumer in support of a Dream Act without additional enforcement or security provisions. Related “Daily” EpisodeCreditLucas Jackson/Reuters

Which topics covered on “The Daily” especially intrigue your students? Which connect best to their own lives or communities? What questions would they ask if they were conducting their own interviews on the topic with people they know?

Invite them to brainstorm a list, then work in groups to choose a national or international story like “A Ticking Clock for DACA” or “Guns and the Midterm Elections” and brainstorm all the ways it affects the people they know. Whether for a school radio or TV station or for a school or community print paper, what piece could they write and produce about the issue’s local resonance? Who are the people they would interview? What would they ask? How could they frame it? Where would they publish it, and for whom?

5. Bring it all together: Use “The Daily” as a mentor text for your own podcast:

This spring, The Learning Network will host its first-ever podcast challenge for teenagers. Though many details are yet to be announced, here is a brief overview. Visit our Contest Calendar on April 26 for more details and a related lesson plan.

Podcast Challenge | April 26-May 25, 2018

Create a podcast of five minutes or less that is inspired by one of our thousand-plus Student Opinion questions. That question, however, should just be your starting point. As long as you address it somehow, your podcast can be in whatever format you think works best.

For example, it can be structured as a one-person narration, a conversation between two or more people, or a series of interviews. It can be for educational or entertainment purposes, and can showcase reporting, a personal story or an opinion.

Mental Health and Mass Shootings: How can the mental health system stop gun violence when mental illness is so rarely the cause of it? In-depth interviews that can help students understand a national conversation

House Arrest in Venezuela: This episode about the most vocal opposition leader in Venezuela can help students understand a nation in crisis

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Related

• For additional tips on teaching with audio, check out the site Listenwise, a listening-skills platform for teachers and students